Stop Rushing, Slow Down, and Improve Every Area of Your Life

Very little good ever comes from rushing.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2019.

I don’t even want to talk about how often I’ve damaged my car when rushing because I didn’t plan (or execute) leaving myself enough time to get somewhere.

In that way, being in a rush – especially when ungrounded and lost in our heads – could cost a life.

When you’re rushing – trying to get rid of the tension you’re feeling as quickly as possible – with almost anything, you’re not likely to get the best result.

Rushing through (aka anxiously) asking a boss for a raise or telling a client you’re raising your rates isn’t going to inspire a lot of buy-in for what you’re asking for.

Rushing through confrontational situations or difficult conversations with people isn’t going to make things go well. People either won’t take you seriously, or it may just escalate the emotional chaos and head-butting of the disagreement.

Rushing through a workout could get you seriously injured, and it definitely won’t give your body – or mind – the most benefit.

Rushing when approaching or complimenting women isn’t likely to spark a strong connection or make your words land with impact.

When you’re rushing, you’re not present and you’re not yourself. You’re tensed up – physically, emotionally, and mentally. You’re in your head and in the future.

And it’s easy – especially in 2021 where we’re continually surrounded by evermore technological stimuli coming at us at hyperspeed – to live in a constant state of rushing. To almost never slow down, really relax, and be in the moment…really enjoy what we’re doing right then, who we’re with, and everything around us.

How often in your day and week are you truly in the moment, where your feet are, without having part of your mind somewhere else?

That somewhere else could be just 10 seconds in the future – when you’re interacting with people, wondering what you or they are going to say next, for example. That’s still not relaxing and enjoying the moment you’re in.

And if you’re never fully in the moment, a lot of life will pass you by. Or just be a muted experience. One that doesn’t really feel fulfilling.

When I started working with Brian, getting present and really taking in everything around me – with all my senses – was one thing he worked with me on. Slowing down to smell the roses, if you will.

There were times we’d drive around town and he’d get me to really. Slow. Down. And take in the qualities and subtleties of sights, sounds, the feel of the road under the car, the textures of objects and how they felt when I touched them, how my clothes felt against my body and how the ground underneath my feet felt. And of course, really taking people in. Appreciating subtleties of people’s faces and eyes, their emotions and how our connection felt, who they were. Really looking into and feeling them.

At times, being in that place feels like a drug high. It’s life on a whole different plane.

The mental chatter slows down. Everything’s just more beautiful, vibrant, and awesome.

Except without any drugs. Just getting really into the moment.

It’s still something I get completely away from at times. But slowing down, getting grounded, getting back into awareness of my body, and really taking in the environment with all my senses – especially touch – is one of the main things I do to get out of my head, out of my bullshit, and into the moment when I get overwhelmed. Particularly in social situations.

One thing we all do is eat.

And eating is something we don’t tend to do well in western society. You know the story: obesity, addiction, disease, etc.

Eating is also a chronic area of rushing for us. Eating while we work, walk, have meetings, watch TV, scroll social media or swipe on Tinder, and even drive.

Of course, making good food choices is important when it comes to health, but rushing through eating and not really being present with it certainly doesn’t help us with portion control and longterm calorie intake.

And besides, eating is an awesome part of life. And we’re rushing through it without even fully enjoying it!

I actually get really mad at my formerly invincible-to-calories college self who ate whatever the hell he wanted almost 24/7…and I didn’t even savor the endless, heavenly poisonous, high-calorie sugar, and fried food…goddamn it. That’s thousands of meals, glorious desserts, candy bars, and cookies (and all the snacks!!!!), god knows how many calories…and health risks I’ll never get back.

Facebook has me laughably well figured out these days, and I happened upon a “Beach Body On Demand” article on eating in my feed that inspired this whole post.

“Chomp on This: 5 Reasons to Chew Your Food More” is about…what you would expect.

To summarize the 5 reasons:

1. Chewing May Help You Eat Less

A lot of people know this one. It takes time for the hormones that tell us we’re full to get to our brain. Eat too fast, and your mouth will beat the hormones to the punch and you’ll eat more than you need. Chewing more slows you out of that rush, and studies strongly suggest that chewing more and eating slower both result in eating less and feeling fuller for longer.

2. Chewing May Definitely Makes Food Taste Better

I went ahead and fixed their second point. That’s a big “duh.” You savor it more and get more of the flavors and subtleties out of the food. And, ya know, science:

“What makes food taste good is a blend of taste and smell. By chewing longer, you’re allowing the food to linger in your mouth and stimulate more taste receptors on your tongue. But that’s not all: The breakdown of food from chewing also releases molecules that are sensed by odor receptors in the back of your nasal cavity, and this is how we perceive the flavor. Chewing more sets up a scenario where you’re more likely to get the maximal pleasure from what you eat.”

They also mention the “Slow Food Movement”:

“Their philosophy is ‘saying no to the rise of fast food and fast life.’ They promote ‘living an unhurried life, taking time to enjoy simple pleasures, starting at the table.'”

Hmm…………..

3. Chewing May Help Digestion

Chewing is the first step of digestion, and aids digestion from enzymes in your saliva beginning to break food down…all the way downstream throughout the digestive process.

4. Chewing May Boost Energy

In short, “The better you chew, the more nutrients you will absorb from the food you eat.”

Side note: Low energy often causes hunger and poor food choices…= eating more calories and more crap.

5. Chewing Prevents Choking

Yeah, we know. Never a bad reminder, though.

The piece even discusses how many times you should chew things, but ultimately that varies and comes down to focusing – being present with – your chewing and eating.

I used to avoid ever eating out alone out of loneliness and fear of looking like a loser. After Brian challenged me to start taking myself out on dates (time and experiences I’d been reserving for women) and I began to get over those things, I started really liking eating alone because I could just focus on fully enjoying the hell out of my meal.

Don’t get me wrong – brunch with good people and generally sharing meals with other humans is still something I love, but there’s also something special about just focusing in on the food and nothing else. Really taking it in.

So slow down and really start focusing on and fully enjoying your meals – all the textures and tastes across your tongue.

And then take that into the world. When interacting with people – strangers and those already close to you, people you like and even people you struggle with. Slow down, enjoy (or try to find things to appreciate or be curious about) the connection and the other person, take time to feel and enjoy the words you’re saying, and fully listen and focus on them.

And as you just move through the world and life. Take it all in as you get up in the morning, brush your teeth, shower, shave, dress, check yourself out in the mirror. As you walk down the street. As you drive or take public transit. As you “run” errands. As you enjoy down time.

As you have sex.

A lot of guys have sex from their heads. I’m not saying you should only have slow, romantic sex. I’m saying get fully present – with your body, the woman’s body and emotions, your connection, the subtleties of how everything feels, looks, and sounds. (Smells is your call.) You may well find sex can get a lot better for everyone involved. I have.

Even as you work. Try to take little moments (along with your breaks) to check in with your senses, your body, the environment around you, and life.

All of these things – from the most exciting or fun things to the most stressful things to the most mundane things – can become more enjoyable and fulfilling the more you can slow your mind down and get present.

And people who really love themselves and appreciate and enjoy the hell out of life and the people around them are powerfully magnetic.

Read the original BeachBodyOnDemand.com article: Chomp On This: 5 Reasons to Chew Your Food More

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